


you can't direct friendship (or love)

by qippy



Category: Produce 101 (TV), Wanna One (Band)
Genre: Gen, M/M, alternatively: park woojin accidentally films the formation of his relationship, am i projecting my feelings into fic ?? maybe, though you can definitely read this as platonic, watch me aggressively write jinseob fics until they pop up as a suggested pairing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-23
Updated: 2017-06-23
Packaged: 2018-11-18 00:34:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,802
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11280048
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/qippy/pseuds/qippy
Summary: “Can you greet the camera?” Woojin asks as he aims the lens at Hyungseob.Or: the one where Woojin tries not to get attached, fails and accidentally records it all on camera





	you can't direct friendship (or love)

“Can you greet the camera?” Woojin asks as he aims the lens at Hyungseob.

“Hi!” Hyungseob chirps merrily, instinctual smile blooming despite his fatigue before it drops almost as soon as it appeared, replaced by puzzlement instead. “Wait, that isn’t one of the cameras. We’re not filming today, right?”

Last time he checked, Woojin was very sure he was indeed holding a functional, working camera. He knows what Hyungseob’s asking, though – today is a day for practice, not filming.

“This isn’t a camera from the show,” Woojin says, holding it out but making sure it’s not too far from his body. He’s very protective of this particular piece of equipment regardless of the fact that it’s not the best model of hand-held cameras out there in the market.

Woojin likes filming pieces of his life, has no patience for a diary (he’s wondering how long it’ll be until he’s deducted points for neglecting to write in his trainee journal) but if there is something he _does_ enjoy, it’s vlogging. He’s been hesitant to bring out his camera until now, but Woojin is happy to take advantage of a rare afternoon when the All Back team is boneless, tired and the practice room is blessedly quiet.

Whilst they’ve finally finished learning all the choreography and are beginning to not stumble over their lines, the absence of cameras in the vicinity means that the overall atmosphere is a little less happy-go-lucky and a bit more clinical and desperate. Most of the team members had wandered outside for a break or to visit other practice rooms, but Woojin had sprawled out on the wooden floor, too tired to get up and not comfortable enough to plead someone else to stay to keep him company.

Woojin had been planning on lying there for longer, had been contemplating sinking into the floor to become one with the floorboards so he would never have to worry about another survival program for the rest of his life but the sound of heavy breathing and rough singing had prevented him from doing so. Instead, through the floor-to-ceiling mirror he faced he watched Hyungseob continue practising, wincing at some of the mistakes but nodding in approval when he moved to correct himself with a diligence that to be honest, was equal parts remarkable and frightening.

When Hyungseob had (finally) collapsed onto the seats lining the wall at the other end of the room, Woojin had by that time moved to his bag, taking out his camera and fiddling with the settings, unsure if he still remembered how to use the device after leaving it to collect dust for so long.

Honestly speaking, part of the reason why he’s brought it out at all is because he’s still uncomfortable in this environment and needs something familiar to anchor himself down with. Woojin is still working out where to place himself, the leader sticker on his chest feeling less like reality and more a role he’s playing on screen and even then, he’s not confident he won't be edited out in a team that's so full of vibrant and dominant personalities. At least with his camera acting as a sort of shield, he can attempt to communicate more with his teammates with a solid excuse of wanting to collect memories or whatever, cementing an image for himself that to his knowledge, no other trainee has yet. 

“Oh?” Hyungseob blinks, but doesn’t reach out to pluck the camera from Woojin’s grasp. Woojin finds himself thankful for the gesture. “That’s pretty cool. Is it a hobby or something?”

“Something like that,” Woojin agrees, settling down carefully on the seat next to Hyungseob but being mindful to maintain his distance. He hasn't yet worked out which of the trainees like physical contact and besides, at this point in time he’s still struggling to relax around everyone.

Still, there’s something oddly comforting about Hyungseob’s presence. It could be the late hour of day or the many hours of practice or the fledging beginnings of kinship born from participating in Produce 101 together, but Woojin thinks that it’d be nice if they both make it to the next round together.

Hyungseob’s soft voice interrupts Woojin’s thoughts. “Alright then, aim the camera at me.”

“Hmm?” Woojin looks up in bemusement, meeting Hyungseob’s gaze with confusion etched over his features.

“I’ll say something nice!” Hyungseob sits up straighter, reaches to fix his fringe so that it resembles hair more than it does a wet mop.

Shrugging, Woojin aims the camera, focuses it on Hyungseob and hits record.

“Hello future Woojin!” Hyungseob waves, “you might not remember me later, but this is Hyungseob, your teammate in All Back from Produce 101. You’re totally cool, _fighting!”_

Woojin stops recording when it’s clear Hyungseob isn’t going to say any more.

“Thanks,” he says somewhat awkwardly, busying himself with looking down and fiddling with his camera, “you’re pretty cool yourself. We’re gonna do well.”

Hyungseob beams.

 

 

-

 

 

“Hey!” Hyungseob greets him merrily as if they’re not currently dying after a solid few hours of practice. For a change of scenery, Woojin’s in the cafeteria area of the training centre, lying on the couch and resolutely not thinking about the way that his clothes are sticking to him in ways that they really shouldn’t for size large.

“I can’t feel my legs.” Woojin tells Hyungseob. He knew intellectually that all the Get Ugly team members have different styles of dance, but seeing and doing are two different experiences – he is no longer wondering how Daniel-hyung’s thighs are so amazingly toned, because _wow_. He had toned down the choreography so that all of them could keep up, and Woojin is curious about what it’d be like if he went all out, had more time to throw in everything he could. Maybe for the next mission.

Then again, part of Woojin is thinking that he'd be lucky at all to face the next mission, what with the way the number 24 clings like a leech to his person. He'd be lucky for his _name_ to even be known by the time he's eventually eliminated. 

Hyungseob's voice drags Woojin out of his thoughts. Thankful to have something else to shift his attention to, Woojin glances up at where the other is standing. 

“It’s alright, I can’t either.” Hyungseob’s sunny smile doesn’t twitch as he lifts a leg to (proudly) show off the bruises on his knees. “See?”

Woojin tries not to judge, but he can’t help it. “How did that even happen?” He’s a hundred percent sure that there isn’t a single move in the choreography that would warrant this many bruises.

“I keep overbalancing?” Hyungseob demonstrates the move in question and Woojin wants to groan as he slaps a hand over his face. Well, he can’t let this be left alone.

“Alright, follow me,” he says, sitting up and inwardly lamenting the loss of rest time. Woojin tells himself that he's doing this so that Daniel-hyung has less to worry about, so that their team can put on a good performance, but it's also maybe because he genuinely likes spending time with Hyungseob and wants to make sure that the both of them does well on stage.

“You’re going to help me go around filming the teams later though,” Woojin says as he pushes open the door to their practice room, waving in response to Jihoon’s greeting from where he’s sitting against the wall.

“Okay, deal!”

 

 

-

 

 

“This is reporter Park Woojin, getting up close and personal to one of nature’s top predators.” Woojin says seriously, his camera aimed at himself as he films himself walking through the corridor. When he reaches the door at the end, he pauses to swivel it so that it’s filming in front, before he continues through to the room, “Hyungseob, an aegyo set – go!”

Hyungseob fumbles his way through his signature ‘v’ pose before pausing. “Wait, Woojinnie? This is your camera, isn’t it?”

Woojin’s cackling. “Yes, it is,” he cheerfully informs the other.

Hyungseob emits a very impressive screech that could _possibly_ rival the one he did during the infamous ghost prank. “Ah, delete it! Delete it, my cool and chic image will be ruined!” he wails dramatically, throwing himself onto the floor.

Over by the other end of the room, Gunhee and Sewoon are watching the dramatics of Hyungseob with amusement.

Woojin thinks that after showing up to the athletics day with apple hair, Hyungseob’s image could not possibly be ruined any more than it already had been. 

(Then again, he knows the viewers will find it adorable. Woojin certainly had – wait, what?)

“Thanks for the footage, Hyungseobbie!” Woojin sings, scurrying out the door and narrowly avoiding a swipe at his foot by Hyungseob. “I’ll let you guys practice in peace now, fighting!”

 

 

-

 

 

Hyungseob steals Woojin's camera the next day and goes around filming each and every trainee doing a set of cringe-worthy aegyo.

It takes up the rest of the space on Woojin's memory card, and it's much, much later when Woojin realises with a start that he actually doesn't mind that Hyungseob had set his hands on one of his most prized possessions. 

 

 

-

 

 

There’s one thing that Woojin doesn’t record, but it stays imprinted in his memories and replays itself over and over. 

“Why did you have to say it during filming?” he mutters into Hyungseob’s shoulders, embarrassment reddening his features but unwilling to pull away from the warmth of Hyungseob’s arms.

It’s after the elimination recordings and everyone’s especially touchy and fragile at this point in time. Especially after the heartache of some of his friends (Woojin realises with a jolt that sometime when he wasn’t paying attention, so many of the trainees had stopped being his distant _maybe-colleagues_ to _real, genuine friends he liked_ ) leaving the show, Woojin wants to cling to those that remain and never let go.

Hyungseob laughs. “I couldn’t help myself! All the viewers need to know how cool you are, Woojinnie~”

Woojin scowls half-heartedly. “You could’ve warned me though,” he says with some petulance, “I could’ve prepared a better response for you.”

Hyungseob pulls away slightly. The smile on his face is soft, small but sincere. “But where’s the truthfulness in that?” he asks, “I didn’t want my thanks to you to be scripted.”

It’s such a quirky yet embarrassingly sweet thing – such a _Hyungseob_ thing – to say, and Woojin can’t help but flush slightly at the amount of thought Hyungseob had unexpectedly put into his words of gratitude up on stage.

“You didn't have to thank me,” he says instead, accepting Hyungseob’s reasoning and unspoken apology for putting him on the spot despite knowing how much he struggled with impromptu attention, “you put in all the hard work yourself.”

Honestly, the smile he receives from Hyungseob is all the reward he needs. 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> * hello I am back with more quickly-written JinSeob because I am sad about the lack of JinSeob content and they say you should be the change you wish to see in the world!  
> * you can read this as if it's a prequel to the other fic I posted I guess?? But it also stands alone  
> * I want woojin to vlog everything and I want it all to be posted @ management don't let me down
> 
> EDIT: Now with a Vietnamese translation by TuDan !! https://tudan2710site.wordpress.com/2017/07/08/you-cant-direct-friendship-or-love/


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